Published in Smash Magazine – January 2013
“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”
Richard Bach
“Oh God! What should I write?” I thought as I swirled my pen in between my fingers with a bunch of blank pages lying on the table. I normally begin writing my article on paper before bringing it on my PC. However, on that day couldn’t understand the topic I should write on – my mind wasn’t getting any ideas. It was like staring a television when there’s no electricity. I kept telling myself that I am once again a victim of the writer’s block, and then it hit me – “That’s it!” I exclaimed to myself “writer’s block! That’s the topic I shall write about!”
Writer’s block is a phenomenon where the writer faces shortage of creativity and stimulation, mainly due to a momentary loss or incapacity to write. Writer’s normally face this phenomenon, which is a natural occurrence. Painters also experience it where it’s called an artist block. Writers must have encountered this phase in their life. The condition of the writer’s block can last for some hours to a few days. The phase is strongly associated with depression or nervousness – two psychological conditions that occur due to an impulsive alteration in the brain, caused by events taking place in the person’s external environment.
It is a commonly accepted opinion that the writer’s block is part of a normal variation in the creative process. Justina Chen Headley, a Taiwanese-American fiction writer explained that she faced writer’s block when she lost her touch with the characters about whom she was writing. Once she rediscovered who her characters were and why she had created them in the first place, she regained control of her writing and overcame writer’s block.
Although writer’s block is a temporary state of mind, however, there are rare cases when it takes a permanent place in the mind. An unusual example in modern literary history was of Henry Roth, an American novelist and short story writer, whose writer’s block lasted for sixty years. Roth published his first novel Call It Sleep in 1934 and then began writing short stories. It is interesting to note that he published his second novel in 1994, which was the first of a four part novel series under the name of Mercy of a Rude Stream. Roth’s considerable writer’s block has its roots with his personal problems along with depression or his aversion to deal with certain events in his past that mentally preoccupied him.
Writers use certain techniques to overcome the writer’s block. One is mind writing or free writing, a process where the writer jots down whatever comes in his mind. One should set a time limit of fifteen to twenty minutes and write whatever comes in mind. Writer’s block also occurs when the writer is exhausted with work and doesn’t have the peace of mind to think. It is important that the writer should relax while experiencing such condition. Watching a favorite movie, reading a book or doing a pastime activity helps in releasing tension and cools down the brain. Another useful technique is brainstorming.
Take a piece of paper and sit in your favorite place in the house where there’s abundant natural light and air. Take a few deep breaths and start brainstorming. Just think of different topics and genres and write down whatever topic comes at impulse.
Writer’s block also occurs when the writer writes every paragraph with precision and in the process forgets that it’s the expression and style, which is of importance. A writer has all the time to add accuracy in his writing during the editing phase. Anna Quindlen, an American author, journalist and opinion columnist whose column, Public and Private, in the New York Times won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary wrote, “People have writer’s block not because they can’t write, but because they despair of writing eloquently.”
Reading and watching movies also helps because in both cases, it’s the author or scriptwriter, respectively, who creates his magic that entertains the readers or viewers. Interest factor also plays an important role in bringing the writer out of the writer’s block. You should always select a topic of your interest. Don’t put pen to paper on those subjects, themes or ideas where you lack interest, because writer’s block is a much common dilemma to those writers who haven’t found their inner voice.
Muhammad Omar Iftikhar is an author, columnist, and fiction writer with over 20 years of writing experience. He has published over 1,000 articles in Pakistan’s print media and is the author of four books. His debut novel, Divided Species (2020), is a science fiction story set in Karachi. His other books include 20 Steps to Writing Articles (2022), Recreate Your Tomorrow! (2023), and Player AI (2024). He has been a public speaker for over a decade, conducting more than thirty sessions for various brands and organizations.